Northern Ireland Could Get Its First Board Game Cafe In September

A Belfast couple have set up a Kickstarter campaign to get the dice rolling on Northern Ireland’s first board game cafe.

If everything goes according to plan the new cafe will be called Jack Straws and will open in East Belfast in September.

Laura Briggs (26), who wants to kickstart the project with her husband, explained: “All who know my husband know him as the games master as anywhere we go he brings a car boot full of games. This project has been on out hearts for a long time and we cant wait until the day Jack Straws opens.”

Jack Straws will be Northern Ireland’s only board game cafe, taking its name from the children’s game Jack Straws where players have to hook a variety of stick-like objects from a pile in front of them.

The couple have set themselves a target of £12,500 and have until August 28 to reach it. There are various incentives for pledgers: £10 will get you your name on a plaque in the cafe, for £50 you’ll get a year’s membership and sponsorship of a game board, while £1000 will get you free gaming sessions for a lifetime at Jack Straws.

Laura said: “Board games provide so much fun and interaction that has recently been lost in a society increasingly dominated by multimedia. I grew up with family board game nights and have wonderful memories of the laughter and enjoyment they brought. Since I got married, we now host board game nights in our house once or twice a week.

“We want to provide a comfortable, fun environment where groups of friends or family’s can come together, drink coffee and select and learn a game from a collection of over 300 board games. We will continually update and increase our stock, so there will always be a reason to come back for more.

“Board game cafes are becoming popular all over the world yet Belfast doesn’t have one. We want to change that!

The cafe will have dedicated, friendly staff who will meet with you when you first arrive. They will ask about your board game experience and judge from your answer which game would be appropriate for you. They will sit with you and teach you how to play and then will be available to serve you food and drinks and answer any questions you have throughout your time in Jack Straws.

You can book a table online or by phone or come on down to the cafe. It is £4.50 for a two-hour gaming session for an adult and £3.50 for children, pensioners or groups over 10. The two-hour rule applies if the cafe is very busy, otherwise you are free to play on as long as you like.

You can purchase a membership for the year at £20 and this will get you your gaming session for £3.50 every time.

They also plan to host workshop nights where we will advertise a game and anyone that wants to learn and meet new people to play the game with can come along to our dedicated evenings.

They will have a private function room that can be hired out for groups and parties with dedicated staff ready to teach you games and serve you food and drinks.

Jack Straws will also run tournament days and evenings for different games throughout the year.